1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to supports, and more specifically to a non-linear display wall, column, divider or the sort having racks specially mounted in at least one trackway to support merchandise.
2. Description of the Related Art
Proper showcasing or staging of merchandise has long been known by merchants to be vital to optimal sales. As but one example, jewelry has long been sold from specially illuminated display cases that provide a rich spectrum of light, such that diamonds and other jewelry will sparkle to the fullest extent possible. Quite literally, the jewelry is placed in the best light possible.
While full spectrum illumination is particularly effective for jewelry sales, other merchandise requires different staging or display, and may be of very diverse dimension. As may be apparent, there is much and widely varied merchandise, so much so that no one display will optimally serve all different types of merchandise. As a result, various artisans have designed many product specific display racks. As but one example of these displays is U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,561 by Eckert, entitled “Eyeglass frame display”, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference.
In addition to the different types and sizes of merchandise, each requiring different optimal presentations, retailers face other challenges. While particular merchandise may be optimally displayed in a particular way, the retailer will also preferably maintain brand or store consistency of appearance and handling, since this consistency facilitates store management, reduces the extent of training overhead, and creates a consistent atmosphere or feel for the customers.
The desire to display each product in the best manner for that product contrasts with the desire to maintain brand or store consistency. Consequently, various artisans have sought to develop merchandise supports that can be easily customized by a merchant to fit diverse merchandise, while still preserving a common look or feel. One type of approach has been the use of a perforate support and a plurality of bent pegs the pegs which are designed to be moved to an appropriate hole for a particular product to be displayed. Exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,919 by Hochman, entitled “Display device apertured for holding support hooks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,348 by MacDonald, entitled “Arcuate peg board”. Unfortunately, these pegs offer very little stability when placed in the hole, relying entirely upon the load upon the peg to hold the peg against the support. When a customer or other passer-by inadvertently bumps the peg, the peg may easily be dislodged or disrupted sufficiently to spill the merchandise suspended therefrom. Furthermore, the surface area adjacent to the support perforations is quite small, meaning there is a substantial load placed upon the structure surrounding the hole. If a customer leans or presses upon the exposed end of the peg, the distal end passing through the perforate hole may tear or bend the support due to the great force applied thereto.
Another technique for displaying diverse merchandise is the use of a slatwall. These walls consist of a generally planar surface having a plurality of parallel, typically horizontal grooves formed therein. Special hooks may be inserted into adjacent pairs of grooves, and these hooks have much larger engagement with the wall than typical prior art peg boards or perforate panels. Exemplary US patents and published patent applications, the teachings and contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,761 by Holztrager, entitled “Method of manufacturing an exhibit panel”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,674 by Holztrager, entitled “Exhibit panel with lightweight hollow backboard”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,044 by Holztrager, entitled “Display wall assembly and method of making same”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,574 by Holztrager, entitled “Merchandise display panel”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,135 by Holztrager, entitled “Merchandise display panel with lockable display card”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,278 by Holztrager, entitled “Merchandise display panel with lockable display card”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,023 by Holztrager, entitled “Wall organizer”; U.S. Pat. No. 8,602,227 by McDonald, entitled “Slatwall panel”; 2007/0090067 by Holztrager, entitled “Lattice merchandise display system”; and 2008/0000861 by Holztrager, entitled “Slatwall adapter”. Flat displays are limited in area by the amount of wall space available for the display. Furthermore, they are very restricted in creating aesthetic appeal, owing to the undesirable limitation of being generally planar. They are, nonetheless, generally an improvement over the perforate walls of the prior art.
A few artisans have enhanced the appearance of these planar slatwalls through the use of creative illumination. Exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,025 by Barton, entitled “Low voltage lighting fixture with track electrodes”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,705 by Portner, entitled “Lighting fixture display”. Unfortunately, these techniques require large and obtrusive lighting structures, detracting from the merchandise and potentially creating an electrical safety hazard with customers.
A few artisans have also constructed free-standing and three-dimensional displays from slatwall. Exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,934 by Holztrager, entitled “Merchandise display assembly”; and Des U.S. Pat. No. 397,561 by DePottey et al, entitled “Freestanding modular display/divider wall”. These displays use a plurality of flat sheets of slatwall that have been coupled with adjacent, non-parallel slatwall to produce a three-dimensional shape having more artistic and utilitarian purpose than the entirely planar slatwall. Nevertheless, these remain quite limited in the shapes that may be produced, not having the capability for any curved surfaces, and the merchandise displays produced therefrom are undesirably “blocky” in appearance.
One particularly creative slatwall display is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,726 by Holztrager, entitled “Curved display shelf”, the teachings and contents of each which are incorporated herein by reference. In this patent, slatwall is fabricated from an extruded polyvinylchloride sheet that is heated and pressed against a mold to form the sheet into an arcuate shape such as the semicircle illustrated therein. This allows an artistic and curved shelf to be suspended from an otherwise planar slatwall, providing both dimension and non-planar geometry. Unfortunately, and in part owing to the manufacturing technique, this display shelf is very limited in the loading from displayed merchandise or customers, and so is quite limited in size. Furthermore, this display shelf must be supported upon a standard planar slatwall, still undesirably restricting the geometries of merchandise displays made therefrom.
Several additional US patents of less direct relevance illustrate technology from which the teachings and content which are incorporated herein by reference, including: U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,799 by Sears et al, entitled “Stair lights”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,434 by Drake, entitled “Aircraft bag-rack with an illuminated handrail”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,674 by Owen, entitled “Sealed passage for electrical leads across a barrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,373 by Franklin et al, entitled “Modular precast wall system with mortar joints”. In addition to the foregoing patents, Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.